Ding: Kobe is homeless community's Spider-Man

Sept. 12, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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In discussing the homeless problem at My Friend's Place in Hollywood, Kobe Bryant said: "In life, we all make mistakes. To stand back and allow somebody to continue to live that way and say, ‘Well, that's your fault. That's your problem.' That's not right. That's not fair. We all make mistakes.” MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, FOR THE REGISTER

Kobe Bryant is mobbed by press after speaking and answering questions at Wednesday's press event celebrating the completing of renovations at My Friend's Place, a Los Angeles non-profit serving homeless youth. The renovations were done with help from the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, FOR THE REGISTER

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Vanessa Bryant , second from left, and Kobe Bryant pose for photos at the conclusion of Wednesday's press event celebrating the completion of renovations at My Friend's Place, a Los Angeles non-profit serving homeless youth. The renovations were done with help from the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, FOR THE REGISTER

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Los Angeles Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky shakes hands with Kobe Bryant after making a few remarks at Wednesday's press event celebrating the renovation of the My Friend's Place building with help from the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, FOR THE REGISTER

In discussing the homeless problem at My Friend's Place in Hollywood, Kobe Bryant said: "In life, we all make mistakes. To stand back and allow somebody to continue to live that way and say, ‘Well, that's your fault. That's your problem.' That's not right. That's not fair. We all make mistakes.” MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, FOR THE REGISTER

LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant wore a blue shirt and red pants, a reversal of the standard fashion combination worn by the super hero he would reference Wednesday.

"I don't want to get too cheesy and quote Spider-Man," Bryant said in explaining his involvement, "but with great power comes great responsibility."

Bryant was appearing at My Friend's Place, the safe haven in Hollywood that serves nearly half the homeless youth of Los Angeles. Bryant and wife Vanessa helped renovate the facility as part of the mission they began more than a year ago to fight homelessness, an issue that Kobe refers to as "the one that probably needs the most push."

"It has become white noise," Bryant said of the homelessness we all see from time to time, but mostly in the landscape as opposed to the spotlight.

There are 45,000 to 70,000 homeless people in the Los Angeles area, depending on which estimated numbers you consult. Some of the real human beings met Bryant on Tuesday night when he visited the downtown Los Angeles Mission, which serves the homeless along Skid Row and sits a mile and a half from Staples Center.

The reality is that some of those people – particularly with as far as they have to go just to be like you or me – do think of Bryant as a super hero, not just a man.

Of course they are wrong, but if the world puts you on a pedestal, you can either connect with those who look up to you or ignore them.

The gist of many conversations at the LA Mission, Bryant said, was: "Come help us out! I want to turn my life around."

Bryant's reply: "Well, that's why I'm here."

Right around here is where some of you get distracted by Bryant having the ego not just to liken himself to a super hero, but to talk like one. (A handful of you might also be chuckling that the "with great power" quote didn't come just from Tobey Maguire in the 2002 "Spider-Man" movie or the comic books, though not everyone is so well versed in everything Voltaire said in 1832 during the French Enlightenment.)

Well, this is about Kobe Bryant – but it isn't.

To see the earnest eyes of Heather Carmichael, executive director of My Friend's Place, as she articulates to Kobe and Vanessa how she feels "the deepest deep gratitude" toward them for helping ...

To hear the apt summation of Zev Yaroslavsky, the Los Angeles County supervisor who has labored in the L.A. community in public office for nearly 40 years, as he says about Kobe and Vanessa: "Their celebrity makes it cool to deal with the homeless issue of Los Angeles" ...

This is about Kobe Bryant, and it's about the homeless – but it's also about all the hard workers in all areas of community service trying to help people worse off and so often being shunned themselves, frustrated by their lack of power.

It's not Bryant doing anything particularly heroic. It's, as Yaroslavsky says, "the right thing to do."

The difference is his power.

People care so ardently about Bryant because of his ability to overcome basketball adversity that they come to care about what he cares about. (Along those lines, I'll note that Kobe and Vanessa made the appearance Wednesday together, though neither wore a wedding ring.)

I asked Bryant on Wednesday to compare those meetings with ones with the homeless youth. He said even more than the sick kids, homeless youths are desperate to latch on to hope.

"A lot of things I do for Make-A-Wish, the kids just want to have a good time," he said. "They don't want to sit around and have you feeling bad for them being in this situation or being sad for them. They deal with that all the time; they just want to have a good time.

"When I speak to some of the kids here or even some of the adults, most of the time what they want is to continue to have inspiration. They want to know that what they're fighting for is something worth fighting for and that when you have dark moments, continue to push through it.

"That's why sports is such a great analogy for them, because they see me struggle on the court, they see me go through things, they see me continue to play through 'em. They pull inspiration from that."

As far as more tangible assistance, the Bryants' next major initiative is building eight new living units for Step Up on Second, which provides housing for those affected by mental illness.

And particularly tall homeless men should definitely be notified that the 6-foot-6 Bryant on Monday dropped off a truckload of his own extra clothes and shoes at My Friend's Place.

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